Oklahoma
How the Offensive Line Gave Oklahoma an Identity on Offense
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables had a lot of emotions Saturday night after his team took down No. 7 Alabama, but surprised wasn’t one of them.
The defense and running game prevailed in the 24-7 upset that stirred fans at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to rush Owen Field for only the second time this millennium. But the truth is, fans only storm fields when there’s an unexpected result.
The Sooner faithful had that faith in the defense, even if it was only the size of a mustard seed when going up against Bama’s potent offense led by Heisman hopeful Jalen Milroe. But what was expected from OU’s offense was low, especially after the consistent struggles from the offensive line, which broke program sack records you don’t want to break and didn’t pave the way for a 100-yard rusher until Week 10, and even that was against an FCS opponent.
“I think if you go back and watch the film, I think each game we kept improving, kept our head down,” right guard Febechi Nwaiwu said. “Like we were saying at the beginning of the season, we knew it would take a lot of work to get to a point where we would feel like an elite offensive line. I still don’t think we’re at that. I still think there’s a lot of things we can work on, but Saturday, of course, it felt amazing. It was a good step forward, but it’s not done.”
Even if Venables denies being shocked by what transpired in the trenches Saturday night, the rest of us were. OU’s offensive line handled a group playing for a program that’s famous for winning with physicality. The Sooners rushed for 257 yards and averaged 5.1 yards a carry behind Logan Howland, Heath Ozaeta, Troy Everett, Nwaiwu, Spencer Brown and Eddy Pierre-Louis.
“Just knew it was coming,” Venables said postgame. “Could we do it consistently? We had shown signs here or there, just one guy off here or there, and it all looks bad. And tonight, man, I think it’s a culmination of the development process, as we’ve said.”
The left side of freshmen Howland and Ozaeta first showed improvement in the passing game against Maine, when the big guys didn’t let the Black Bears get to their quarterback one time. The next week against Missouri, the Tigers sacked Jackson Arnold three times, which was still drastically better than the nine sacks given up in both games against Ole Miss and South Carolina.
Although the sack numbers stood out against Maine, though, that was when the Sooners seemingly found their offensive identity with a sophomore quarterback and injury-plagued receiving group. Jovantae Barnes ran for 203 yards to become OU’s first 100-yard rusher of the season as the team totalled 381 rushing yards.
“I think we are building (an identity),” Nwaiwu said. “You know, I can’t say what everybody else thinks, but I think that an offense should be good at everything—not good at everything, but I think an offense should be well-rounded all around, so yeah, we were good at running the ball, but there’s always something to improve on. You can never be too good at everything.”
With Barnes missing the next game against Mizzou, OU posted 122 yards on 36 carries as Arnold threw for only 74 yards. Even in the loss and the numbers not being as polarizing, it was still evident what offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley wanted his group to do.
Then against Bama in a win, Arnold actually threw for even less yards, 68, on only 11 attempts. It was OU’s lowest passing total of the season, yet, the Sooners still beat a top-10 team. Arnold did rush for a team-high 131 yards, though, as freshman running back Xavier Robinson had 107 rushing yards and two touchdowns to give the Sooners’ a pair of 100-yard rushers.
“It really starts with that front five,” Robinson said. “They did a great, great job. Monday started that week. You can see it all. They just did a good job opening up the gates and just having us make those reads. With Jackson back there, that really opened up some windows.”
“I mean, it’s just the standard, you know what I mean,” Brown said. “It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been grinding for the last few weeks and the work finally showed and the work showed on Saturday night.
Oklahoma RB Xavier Robinson Looking to Build on Breakout Game vs. Alabama
How Jackson Arnold Assured Brent Venables’ Belief in Him as Oklahoma’s QB
Oklahoma
1 injured in I-40 rollover crash in OKC
One person was hurt in a crash Wednesday night along Interstate 40 in northeast Oklahoma City, according to police.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says 26-year-old Jada Berry was driving on I-40 near Interstate 35 when her vehicle left the roadway and rolled over twice.
Berry was injured in the crash and taken to a local hospital. Her condition has not yet been released.
OHP says Berry was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. No charges have been filed at this time.
Troopers at the scene say no one else was in the car.
Oklahoma
New restaurants coming to OKC in 2026
In 2026, Oklahoma City’s food scene will continue to expand. From new locations of fan favorite Oklahoma restaurants to new fast food chains, here’s the food coming to OKC in 2026.
Tamashii Ramen House (Quail Springs)
After the success of other locations, the fourth Tamishii location will hit OKC in 2026. The new location will be located at Kilpatrick and Memorial, near Quail Springs.
This Japanese restaurant has various flavors of ramen, fried rice, gyoza, and much more.
Tamashii has three other locations across the state:
Bojangles
Two Bojangles are expected to open in 2026. These will be the fast food chain’s first locations in the state.
One restaurant is finishing construction at North Penn Avenue and West Memorial Road. This restaurant is set to open in early 2026. The other location will be near Interstate 240 and South Eastern Avenue in southeast Oklahoma City, and it has no timeline for its opening.
Bojangles specializes in Southern fried chicken and biscuits.
Papadeaux’s
The classic Cajun restaurant Papadeaux will soon have a restaurant in OKC. This restaurant’s opening will mark Oklahoma’s first Papaduex location, joining the more than 30 restaurants nationwide.
It is not known when this restaurant will open.
New restaurants brought flavors from different parts of the world to Oklahoma in 2025.
Oklahoma
Giant leg lamp lights up small Oklahoma town, turning a Christmas classic into a year-round attraction
Every holiday season, families flock to Main Street in Chickasha, Oklahoma, for its parade and dazzling light show. But it’s not just the brightly lit Christmas tree catching their attention — a nearly 50-foot-tall leg lamp is stealing the spotlight.
The giant statue, which officially reopened as a permanent attraction in November 2022, pays homage to the 1983 Christmas classic “A Christmas Story.” It’s inspired by one of the film’s iconic scenes, where Ralphie’s dad Mr. Parker gets the leg lamp as a “major award” for winning a newspaper crossword puzzle contest.
“When he pulled the leg lamp out of the box, I could not get that out of my mind. I mean, that was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen,” Tim Elliot, CEO of Standley Systems, a family-owned business technology company based in Chickasha, told “CBS Mornings.”
A few years ago, that scene made a lightbulb go off in Elliot’s head – put a giant leg lamp front and center on Main Street.
The Chickasha Festival of Light with its 3.5 million twinkle lights and 170-foot-tall Christmas tree has frequently been named one of the best light shows in the country, bringing more than 250,000 visitors each year. But Elliot wanted to add something special that would draw people to Chickasha year-round. So, he pitched the quirky idea at a meeting for economic development.
“I pulled the leg lamp out and set it on the conference table, and I said, ‘How about a 100-foot leg lamp at the end of Main Street?’”
Attendees laughed and shrugged off the idea, suggesting it was never going to happen. But Elliot was determined. He raised more than $1 million, and in 2021, the statue went up.
But like the movie, the lamp kicked off controversy.
Jim Cowan, Chickasha economic development director and president of the Chickasha Chamber of Commerce, said attorneys representing Warner Brothers sent a letter to the Chickasha Community Foundation that essentially read, “cease and desist, destroy it, tear it down.”
“We were very determined. We weren’t going to let that happen. That if we had to go and battle in the courts we would because we felt like we did things the right way,” Cowan said.
The group explained to Warner Brothers that they were not profiting off the lamp because they don’t charge admission, and a neighboring gift shop sells licensed products from the film. Elliot says the group hasn’t heard from the entertainment company in about a year and a half.
That’s good news for visitors – like John Prock from Washington, D.C., who drove from his parents’ house in Oklahoma to visit the giant leg lamp.
“My parents mentioned it, so I came down to visit them, and they said, ‘Well, while you’re here, let’s go see the leg lamp.’ So we literally hopped in the car, drove almost three hours to get here, and here we are,” Prock said.
The lamp has become a beacon for tourists and businesses.
“Tourism is at an all time high and a lot of that can be traced one way or another to a leg lamp,” Cowan said.
Chet Hitt grew up just 20 miles away before moving out west and becoming a successful business developer. Now, he’s back home – and has big plans, investing millions in the town.He has plans to develop a business park and renovate downtown, as more and more people come to town to see the lamp.
“You drive down this little town and you see kids playing and the community behind things and the support. It just really they buy into what’s here,” Hitt said, adding that he hopes to see continued growth in the town over the next decade.
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